Mailing piece or advertising sheet provided with an interlocking return envelope



Feb. 24, 14959 A. H. HOWARD 2,874,892

MAILING PIECE 0R ADVERTISING SHEET PROVIDED ,WITH AN INTERLOCKING.RETURN ENVELOPE Filed April 16. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 vwl NW F l M @Y Eiv V ww M w u. WWI m D, XJ

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MAILING PIECE OR ADVERTISING SHEET PROVIDED WITH AN INTERLOCKING RETURNENVELO'PE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April les.` 1956 mnease seNo ME 4United States Patent() MAILING PIECE R ADVERTISING SHEET PRO- VIDED WITHAN INTERLOCKING RETURN EN- VELOPE 'Application April 16, 1956, SerialNo. 578,394

z claims. (Cl. 229-73) This invention relates to a mailing piece oradvertising sheet provided with an interlocking return envelope.

`One of the objects of this invention is` to provide a mailing piece oradvertising sheet which` is provided as an integral part thereof with aninterlocking return envelope.

Y Another object of this invention is vto provide a two way mailingpiece which hasan interlocking return envelope and order blank formedintegrally ,with the mailing piece so that it may be readily detachedtherefrom and filled in andreturned.

Another objectA of this inventionY is proved interlocking returnenvelope.

Another object of this invention is to provide a section which forms aninterlocking return envelope which section is an integral part of alarger sheet such as a mailing broadside, catalog sheet, newspaper ormagazine page and which envelope section has printed thereon the returnaddress and a reply or order blank so that the envelope `section may bereadily detached, filled out and folded to interlock as a returnenvelope without requiring the use of glue` or other adhesive.

The purpose of advertising is to stimulate the sale of the products orservices oifered, however if the recipient or person readingtheadvertisement is not provided with a convenient method of replying orplacing the order, the effect of the advertisement is lost. Thisinvention aims to overcome said objection by a convenient self addressedreply envelope which is integrally formed with the advertising sheet butwhich may be readily attached therefrom and folded to form aninterlocked reply envelope.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a mailing piece unfolded with the returnenvelope as part thereof.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the mailing piece folded for mailing.

Pig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the mailing piece folded but in spacedapart position.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the return envelope detached from the mailingpiece and showing the reverse side of that shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the envelope folded and interlocked.

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 7--7 of Fig. 6.

to provide an im.

Fig. 8 shows a modified form of flap for the returnl rice The inventionin connection with a mailing piece as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, willnow be described.

A sheet of paper of substantially rectangular shape is provided and samedivided into 8 substantially rectangular shaped sections, designated bythe numerals 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24. The vertical fold linesare designated by the numerals 26, 28, 30,` 32, 34 and 36,. Thehorizontal fold lines are designated by the numerals 38, 40, 42 and 44.

In folding the mailing piece for mailing it is rst folded in half alongvertical fold lines 28 and 34, so that sections 14, 16, 22 and 24 faceoutwardly and the remaining sections face inwardly.

It is then further folded in half on horizontal fold lines 38 and 40which reduces it to one-fourth of the original size so that section 10lies adjacent section 18 and section 12 lies adjacent section 20; Itisthen further folded in half along fold line 30, so that sections 14 and16 lie adjacent each. other, with section 22 facing forwardly andsection 24 facing rearwardly as best shown in Fig. 3. This reduces themailing `piece to the size of one of the sections or one-eighth of theoriginal size. When originally mailed it may be stapled or secured alongone of its sides by a sticker to retain the sections together.

Section 22 becomes the face of the mailing piece and is used for themailing address. Section 16 will form the self contained interlockingreturn envelope. The back or reverse side of section 22 and all theremaining sections except section 16 may have printed on both sidesthereof advertising material and the like. The reverse side of section16 may have printed thereon the order form or reply as best shown inFig. 5.

The formation of the self contained interlocking return envelope willnow be described and this is best shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Section 16 inwardly of the folding line 30 is provided with a verticalprinted dash line 40 which may be perforated or weakened and extends thefull height of section 16 to provide a space 42 between it and the foldline 30. The horizontal fold line 44 may likewise be formed similar toline 40 and may be printed, perforated or weakened.

Section 16 to the right of the vertical line 40 which is divided intosmaller fold sections by dotted fold lines 44 and 46 which dividesection 16 into an upper end'section 48, an intermediate section 50 anda lower end section 52. Sections 48 and 52 are opposite end sectionswith respect to intermediate section 50.

Section 50 forms the face of the return envelope and has imprintedthereon the name and address of the company seeking the reply. Sections48 and 52 when folded adjacent the rear of section 50 form the rear ofthe envelope and are interlocked as will be described.

The upper edge of section 48 is cut at its opposite sides as at 54 and56 to provide an interlocking ap 58 having outwardly inclined side edges60. Horizontal slits 62 extend inwardly of the horizontal upper edges 64formed by the cutouts 54 and 56 and said slits are continuations of andare on the same plane as the upper edges 64.

The lower section 52 has a horizontal slit 66 to receive the ap 58 andinterlock therewith as will be explained.

The opposite side of intermediate section 50 is printed to provide anorder form or reply as best seen in Fig. 5. The interlocking envelope isiirst detached from the main body of the mailing piece by tearing orcutting along verv tical lines 40 and 44 which then provides theunfolded blank sheet as shown in Fig. 5.

After the order form is filled in, the blank is folded along fold line46 so that the reverse side of the lower section 52 is adjacent theprinted order form. Then the upper section 48 is folded on line 44 sothat the reverse side` of 'section 48 ris positioned to overlap aportion of section 52. The flap 58 iscinserted in slit 66' and the slits62 intergage with the slit 66 to irmly lock the return envelope. as a,unit.. The ilap 58 when Vinserted will be positioned between the innerface of' section 52 and the inner face of section S as best shown inFigs. 6 and 7 and the. slits 62 of the flap will interlock with slit 66to form a positively closed and self interlocking return envelope. l

y Fig. 8 shows a modified form of Hap which maybe formed as part ofsect-ion 48 in lieu of ap 58. This modified flap 68 is formed by cuttingout the upper end's of section 48 to form a. flap having; a verticalside edge 70 and an outwardly inclined side edge 72. AA horizontal slit74 formed as a continuation of the edge 7'6 is provided. The ap 68 isinserted in slit 66 and locks therewith inthe same manner as previouslydescribed.

Fig.r9 shows a. modified. form of ap. 78 in which the side edges 80 ofthe ap are inclined inwardly from the upper edge of section 4S. The flap78 is likewise i'nserted in slit 66 and interlocked therewith aspreviously described. s

Fig. 10 shows the `application of this invention to a page such as. anewspaper, magazine or catalog sheet. The return envelope is arranged tofit on one corner of the sheet and is provided with the cutout lines,vfold lines, ilap and. slits as previously described; so that it may hedetached' from the sheet, foldedv and locked and used as a selfcontained interlocking return. envelope as previously described.

4 It will ber understood that various chan-ges. and modiications may be.made from the foregoing without d'eparting frornthe. spirit and scopeofthe appended" claims.

I claim:

1. A blank for a self-contained two-way mailing d'evice comprising arectangular sheet of material provided with horizontal and vertical foldlines to form two rows, each row having a plurality of equal sizedsections, said blank being folded on said fold lines to form a mailingdevice of the overall size of one of said sections, the end section onlyof one of said rows of sections being detach able from the remainingsections'. when used as. a return mailing device, said detachable endsection provided with a pair of spaced horizontal fold lines to permitsaid de# tached end section to be folded to provide an intermediatesection and upper and lower portions, one of said portions having aslitand the opposite portion having an interlocking edge insertable` in saidslit to lock with said slit to retain said detached end section invclosed position as a return mailing device. Y c

2. A blank for a self-contained two-way mailing device comprising arectangular sheet of material provided with horizontal and` verticalfold: lines to forint` ai row of four upper equal sized sections and arow of four lower equal sized sections, said blank being folded on saidfold lines to form a mailing device of the overall size of one of saidsections, the end section only of one of said rows of sections beingdetachable from the remaining sections when used as a return mailingdevice, said detachableV end section fo'ld'able toV provide anintermediatey section, a foldable portion at oneV endA thereof and al'ap extending from the intermediate section opposite the foldableportionso that the fold'ablev portion and the flap are foldab'leadjacent the intermediate section, said foldable portion having a slit,said hap having an: interlocking edge insertable in said slit tol retainsaid detachable endv section in folded position for! use-as a returnmailing device.

References Cited in the file ofi*` this patent STATES PA'FITFSy` 730,933Lawson June 16, 1963 Y 853,889 Magoun May I4, 1907 1,324,753 swift nec.9,. 1919 1,476,822 Kronenberger Dee.. l1, 1923 1,615,200' Shrurn Jan.18,. 1927 1,725,007v Kovnat Aug.v 26),. 1929 1,871,774 Blum et al. Aug.16, 1932 2,190,433 Palmer Feb; 13, 1940r 2,352,559 Marcus et al June 27,1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain July 2-1,` 1921

